10U Plymouth squad earns one win in three games

Cillian Kenneally got the start on the hill for Plymouth on Sunday against Kingswood.
Joshua Spaulding. (click for larger version)

June 26, 2017

PLYMOUTH — The Plymouth 10U Cal Ripken squad won one of the first three games of the District Eight tournament over the weekend in Farmington.

Plymouth started strong by earning a 7-3 win over Farmington on Saturday. The team then dropped an 11-0 decision to Mount Washington Valley to finish the first day of the tournament at 1-1.

They returned on Sunday afternoon to take on Kingswood and fell behind early. Kingswood scored two runs in the first inning off of two walks, a base hit and a double steal against starter Cillian Kenneally.

Kyle Dodge led off the bottom of the first with an infield hit and was forced at second by Kenneally's grounder back to the mound and Plymouth could not answer.

Kenneally was able to keep Kingswood off the board in the second, thanks in part to a nice scoop at first base by Liam Manning.

Manning then led off the bottom of the second with a base hit and two outs later, Caedon Manseau had a base hit as well but both runners were stranded on the bases.

Catcher Noah Shaw earned his keep in the top of the third inning as he gunned down a Kingswood runner stealing third base and then Kenneally got a strikeout to end the inning.

Kenneally had a base hit in the bottom of the third but he took too big a turn around first and was cut down by the Kingswood defense.

Luke Diamond took over on the hill for Plymouth in the fourth inning and struck out two, working around an infield hit.

Plymouth then took the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning. Shaw, Manning and Cam Magoon all drew walks to start the inning and then a base hit from Peyton Long scored two runners to tie the game. After a base hit by Manseau, two runners were forced at the plate on grounders back to the mound before Kenneally delivered a base hit to plate two more runs and give Plymouth the 4-2 lead after four.

Kingswood answered, however, scoring seven runs in the top of the fifth inning to take a 9-4 lead. Plymouth went in order in the bottom of the fifth and then worked around a leadoff Kingswood walk in the top of the sixth.

In the bottom of the sixth, Long led off with a base hit but was forced on a grounder by Manseau, who in turn was forced on a bunt attempt by Mason Hershey and Plymouth could not muster any more runs, dropping the 9-4 decision to Kingswood.